Online Collaboration Paper

Research Question 3: What is the level of community college student agreement with what inhibits collaboration in online courses?
To further develop an understanding of participant experiences with collaboration in online courses, research question 3 seeks to find out the level of agreement student survey participants rate seven (7) factors that inhibit collaboration in online courses. Much like the previous question that asked participants to rate their level of agreement to the benefits of collaboration, this The purpose of this question attempts was to gain an to understanding the of negative aspects that participants’ perceptions of whatmay hinder collaboration in online courses. Participants were asked to respond tindicate their level …show more content…
While participant agreement with factors that inhibit collaboration in online courses was overall low, the survey item that was agreed with most frequently was insufficient communication. Survey data indicates that 32.9% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that insufficient communication is a barrier that inhibits collaboration in online courses. This aligns with research that suggest that the asynchronous nature of many online courses creates an environment that includes a waiting period that, in some cases, allows time for the student(s) to go ahead and find the answer or solution before the instructor or peers have an adequate time to respond (Monahan, McArdle, & Bertolotto, 2008). However, 41.1% of participants disagreed or strongly disagreed that insufficient communication is an inhibitor to collaboration in online classes. The idea that insufficient communication is not an inhibitor to collaboration is not supported by Tetard, Patokorpi & Packalen (2009) who found that problems with including collaboration in online courses included the need for effective communication support in the course management system. While there was not a high level of survey participant agreement with insufficient communication as an inhibitor to collaboration in online courses, research suggests that there needs to be a good method for online students to communicate in collaborative …show more content…
Research question 3 asked survey participants to rate their level of agreement with items associate with how collaboration in online courses is helpful. As seen, participants indicated a moderate to low level of agreement with each of the 7 researched items associated with what may inhibit collaboration in online courses. The item most agreed with what inhibits collaboration in online courses was insufficient communication. The next category most agreed with was low participation of other students followed by poorly organized collaborative activities. Because students do not directly deal with curriculum, it is possible that there was disconnect with this item as survey participants may not have fully understood the implications of the question. The item that feel in the median so far as the agreement or disagreement with what inhibits collaboration in online courses was poor connection of activity with course objectives. Much like the previous item, it may be that students do not know to connect the course objectives with the particular activity. The items most disagreed with were insufficient computer skills of students, note enough time to complete the collaborative activities and, finally, insufficient computer skills of instructor. While all of the mean scores for survey items associated with research question 3 fell below 3 out of 5 possible percentage points, research studies indicate a connection with each item and how it may inhibit